State men: Navy loses lead, falls to TCU, 47-45

Sun staff reports

Clyde Smith III hit a free throw with 9.4 seconds left and Brandon Venturini's 3-pointer at the buzzer went in and out as Big 12 member TCU held off the Navy men's basketball team, 47-45, Tuesday night in Fort Worth.

The loss drops Navy to 2-3 overall, while TCU improved to 4-1.

Navy led most of the game, but went just 3-of-11 from the free-throw line for the contest and shot 28.6 percent from the field in the second half.

"It's important for us to grow as a program and this was a game that we need to figure out how to win," said Navy coach Ed DeChellis. "I told the kids that it's not about the last shot, it's about the play we didn't make earlier in the game. You can't take plays off, whether it's making an easy shot or a defensive play or grabbing a rebound. You have to make the plays, whether it's in the first minute or the final minute."

Navy led virtually the entire first half, holding its largest lead of the game at 26-19 with 1:56 to play on a jumper by Venturini before settling in for a 26-23 halftime advantage.

The Horned Frogs used a 9-2 run out of the halftime break to grab a 32-30 lead, but Navy would regain the lead at 38-35 on Phil Guglielmo's (Springfield, Va.) second 3-pointer of the game with 9:15 to play.

With the game tied at 40, Navy would go scoreless for the next six minutes as TCU took a 46-40 lead on a rebound dunk by Garlon Green with 2:07 to play.

Venturini cut the lead to 46-43 with a long 3-pointer, then after a Navy defensive stop, scored on a rebound putback with 11 seconds left to cut the Horned Frogs' lead to one, 46-45.

With the game tied at 81, -UMBC's Chase Plummer grabbed an offensive rebound and made one of two free throws to give the Retrievers a 82-81 lead with 21 seconds left.

Vinales neared the midcourt line when Plummer was whistled for a blocking foul with five seconds left. Vinales, the 2011 NEC Rookie of the Year, made both ends of a one-and-one.

After a time-out, UMBC's Aaron Morgan raced the length of the court, but his 24-foot 3-point effort hit the front of the rim at the horn.

Morgan had his best game to date, scoring 13 points, adding eight rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes of action.

Johns Hopkins 72, Haverford 46: The visiting Blue Jays (2-1, 1-0 Centennial Conference) opened the game on a 15-0 run and never looked back in beating the Fords (1-2, 0-1 CC). George Bugarinovic and Jimmy Hammer combined for 37 points in the win.

Adam Spengler got the Blue Jays onto the board at the 18:24 mark of the first half with a layup, then picked the pocket of Louis Cipriano and fed a pass to Hammer for a 3-pointer. That ignited Hopkins' game-opening 15-0 run, as the visitors seemed to be in control of the game early. Bugarinovic and Hammer fueled the run with 13 of the team's 15 points. Haverford was slow out of the gate, but responded with a 13-2 run of its own to make it a four-point game with 7:50 to play in the half.

Christian Jackson had 15 points for Frostburg State, which trailed 37-28 at the half.

Hood 64, Immaculata 44: The host Blazers (2-1) shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half, never trailed and led by as many as 23 points. Hood's Cameron Cook (Calvert Hall) had a game-high 23 points. The Mighty Macs fell to 0-3.

Ursinus 85, McDaniel 74: The host Bears (1-2, 1-0 Centennial Conference) went on a 22-2 run midway through the second half to beat the Green Terror (1-2, 0-1).

Tyler Rudd (Glen Burnie) led McDaniel with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ursinus' Mike Draper led all scorers with 24 points.

Christopher Newport 77, Salisbury 63: The visiting Captains (2-0) shot over 53 percent in the first half and led 44-19 at the break. Trent Epps (St. John's-Prospect Hall) had a game-high 20 points for the Sea Gulls (3-1).